Here at After Graduation, I spend a lot of time talking about motivation and setting goals and such, but at the end of the day, I know as well as the next person that you can’t pay your rent with motivation. You need to translate the inspiration into real, actionable steps. If you’re a freelance writer, I wrote an ebook specifically for those who need to find work ASAP, but what about for those of you who aren’t freelancers? Whether you’re about to graduate college and will be looking for your first professional job, have recently been laid off and are looking for a new job, or are making a career switch completely, this list of job hunting resources can help you.

And yes, it is huge-ass.

And no, I don’t know when “ass” became an adjective. But I approve.

Also, this list was inspired by Ali Luke’s Freelance Writing: Ten Steps, Tons of Resources, which is a great one-stop resource for new freelancers - after the freelancing part of After Graduation, of course! :p

Also, just a note - nothing below is an affiliate link of any type. They’re all just resources I’ve come across that I thought may help you on your job hunt!

Places to Post Your Resume Online

LinkedIn is a social networking site that I highly recommend you join if you’re looking for a job, which is why I’ve listed it first here (the rest is alphabetical, not necessarily by which places I think are best). It’s like Facebook for professionals! Basically, you build your resume on the site, then you can connect with others you know. A lot of these other sites also have job search functions as an added bonus, but are more traditional resume-posting sites.

• LinkedIn
• 2JobSearch.net
• 4Jobs.com
• Career Builder
• FreshJobs
• Hot Resumes
• Job Catalog
• Job Guru
• Jobing
• Job Central
• Job Spider
• Look Tech
• Monster
• My Resume Online
• True Careers
• Zillion Resumes

I recommend keeping a list of everywhere you post your resume so that you can remove them once you’ve found a job. (Though it makes sense to keep your information posted on LinkedIn - simply update your profile/resume there to reflect your new position.)

Other Job Search Engines

Many of the places to post your resumes online have job search engines as well, so you can hunt for jobs by keyword or location on top of posting your resume for others to find. In addition, there are a number of job search sites that don’t have resume posting functions that you can check out.

• Find a Perfect Job
• FlipDog
• Hound
• Indeed
• Juju
• Just Jobs
• LinkUp
• Simply Hired
• SnagAJob
• TwitSearch
• Vault
• WorkTree

Don’t forget to also check out your local Craig’s List when hunting for jobs online!

Note that these sites are all general job search sites where you can find jobs across a number of industries. You can also find hundreds, thousands of other job search sites that are extremely targeted - for example, a job search engine just for nurses or a job search engine just for people in the tech industry. Often, really targeted job search sites will give you better results.

Freelance Job Search Sites

Like I’ve noted, there are number of job search sites that are extremely targeted. If I listed them all here, this list would go way beyond huge-ass. It would be…giganto-ass. But since I know that many of my readers are freelancers, and because it’s what I do myself, I did want to note some of the very best freelance job search sites here. Keep in mind that this isn’t an extensive list - these are just my favorites and some of of the most popular ones:

• About Freelance Writing – writing jobs posted on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
• Absolute Write Water Cooler – forum with occasional writing job postings
• Blogger and Freelance Jobs – a few writing jobs are posted every day
• Journalism Jobs – newspaper-related jobs posted on a rolling basis (only some are telecommute)
• Freelance Job Openings – writing jobs posted on a rolling basis
• Freelance Pulse – writing jobs posted sporadically
• The Freelance Writing Jobs Network – writing jobs posted daily
• Mediabistro – media-related jobs posted on a rolling basis (only some are telecommute)
• Problogger – blogging jobs posted on a rolling basis
• Sun Oasis – writing jobs posted on a rolling basis
• WAHM – freelance jobs posted on a rolling basis (many not writing-related)
• Writer Find Jobs – writing jobs posted on a rolling basis

For freelancers, I also highly recommend Elance, which is a bidding site. It’s easy to spend time on Elance and not see much in terms of results, but I’ve found a number of really long-term clients via that site, so persistence really can pay off. I also like that Elance has a basic membership for free, so you don’t have to put any money forth upfront as you do on some other bidding sites.

If you’re a freelancer, I also want to mention my ebook, Out of Thin Air: The Freelance Writer’s Guide to Finding Work When Bills are Due, which has even more information about places to find work online, especially during months when you’re in dire need of income.

Resume Writers

If you aren’t a good writer, you may want to pay someone to help you create a better resume. If you’re currently in college, I recommend checking out your school’s student resources first - often you can get resume help there for free. The resume writing sources I’ve listed below are all highly respected, but I want to note that I have not used them. Do your research before you hire anyone to help you with your resume.

• Resumes Planet
• Resume Writers
• Career Perfect
• Career Plus
• Resumes Guaranteed
• Dream Resume
• Resume Edge

At any professional resume writing company, you can expect to spend over $100 to have your resume written. If this isn’t affordable enough for you, you can also try contacting an individual freelance writer, since their prices may be lower. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for, though - if you hire someone to create a resume for $20, chances are that it won’t be of the same quality that an $150 resume would be.

Cover Letter Samples and Advice

If there’s one thing I do not recommend, it’s copy and pasting from a sample cover letter you find. I also don’t recommend sending out a general cover letter to multiple jobs. Every cover letter you write should be specific to the job for which you are applying. Here’s some more awesome cover letter advice:

• Top Ten Cover Letter Writing Tips and Techniques
• Cover Letters: Types and Samples
• Cover Letter Tips from Monster
• 5 Key Steps to a Cover Letter that Opens Doors
• Cover Letter Advice from Yale Law School
• The 7 Deadly Sins of Cover Letter Writing

I do not recommend hiring someone to write your cover letter. While I do think it is okay to pay someone to do your resume, a cover letter is often used to rate you communication abilities and get a quick glance at your personality. I find that hiring someone to write it for you is borderline fraudulent.

Job Interview Advice

Once you actually get the interview, do you know how to ace it? I’m someone who is extremely personable and confident in my work abilities, so I don’t have problems with job interviews. Some people do, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. So, I’ve compiled a list of tips from across the Internet with tips for being perfect in your job interview:

1. Practice with a friend or mentor before the real interview.
2. Prepare to answer some questions about the company.
3. Be on time (5-10 minutes early).
4. Wear appropriate dress.
5. Bring your portfolio and a copy of your resume.
6. Bring a pen and pad of paper so you’re prepared to take notes.
7. Turn off your cell phone.
8. Be as relaxed and calm as possible.
9. Show what you know about the company when answering questions.
10. Send thank you notes to anyone involved in the interview.
11. Make eye contact with the person interviewing you.
12. Take a few seconds to think about the question before answering.
13. Review your resume and cover letter before your interview.
14. Spit out your gum.
15. Do not smoke before the interview.
16. Use proper English.
17. Be prepared with a few questions about the company or position (but not anything that can be easily found on the company’s website).
18. Give a firm handshake.
19. Bring contact information for your references, especially if you did not submit them with your resume.
20. Never answer a question with just yes or no.
21. Give examples from past jobs when possible.
22. Do not talk about past employers in a negative light.
23. Be aware of your posture and body language during the interview.
24. Ask for a business card when you leave, so you can have contact information readily available.
25. Be prepared to talk about salary, but only if brought up by the person conducting the interview.

More Sources:

• Job Interview Tips from About.com
• Job Interview Tips from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Job Interview Questions - Tips

Places to find example interview questions:

• Job Interview Questions and Best Answers
• Interview Questions
• CareerStop Sample Interview Questions
• Typical Interview Questions
• Job Interview Questions and Answers

Learning About Careers

If you aren’t quite sure what you want to do in life, the first place to stop is JobMonkey. For full disclosure purposes, I’ll tell you that I’m one of the writers at JobMonkey, but they don’t pay me to promote it - I actually believe it is a super useful resource for those who want to learn about career options. JobMonkey has sections that range from Alaskan Fishing Jobs to Video Game Jobs, and each guide gives you information about education requirements, types of jobs, salaries, and more.

As far as other career sites, I hope you’ll first check out the other posts right here at After Graduation. On the sidebar, you’ll also find a list of some of my favorite career-related blogs and resources. From here, I’ll turn the tables to you, though. If you’ve found an especially helpful blog or website that offers career advice, or if you run a career blog yourself, leave a comment below to share the URL.